Taken by Kris Nelson on August 27th, 2011.

Location: Hyatt Regency Maui, Ka’anapali, West Maui.

Photo Story

Last weekend, our ‘ohana was visiting our 2nd favorite travel destination, Door County, Wisconsin, for our last vacation of the year. We were with my wife’s family – who are also huge Maui fans, by the way – and we spent one night that weekend shooting star trails in the state park.

As we talked, we began comparing the stargazing conditions we had that night in northeastern Wisconsin to those we’d seen in Maui on our many trips before. And that discussion brought me back to this photo here.

Family Star Portrait

You may have seen this week’s Sunday Photo if you were following along on our last trip journal entries. It was from the last Saturday night of our Maui trip this year, and I spoke about the significance of sitting under the stars with my son. Also, if you read that journal entry and saw this photo before, you’ll also notice this one is a much nicer, newly edited version.

How They Compare

You’d think it wouldn’t be a fair fight between Hawaii and the Midwest in terms of comparing stargazing conditions. Any you’re probably right, but it usually depends on a few factors.

For example, in more developed places like Ka’anapali or Kihei, there can be more surrounding light pollution from resorts and buildings that would damper your ideal gazing conditions. Being able to lay on a beach towel and listen to the ocean, however, can more than make up for that, though.

There’s also the occasional vog or clouds off the mountains depending on which way the winds are blowing, too. Much of this can be averted, however, by getting up high. Like really high. As in, being up at the Hakeakala summit at night or camping out in the crater. On my bucket list, for sure.

So then, how about where we were last week in Wisconsin?

I’d have to say, from the time we’ve spent up there as well, the completely dark sky and surroundings we had last weekend seemed to be on the less frequent side. Not much of the area we stay at is very developed at all (as evidence of driving the unlit roads at 5:30am to the coast for the sunrise. It’s also a peninsula, with Green Bay to the west and Lake Michigan to the east. So, depending on the time of year, the weather patterns off either body of water can cloud up an otherwise clear sky in the matter of hours. That kinda closes your window of opportunity before it really opens wide enough.

More Maui Stargazing

Awhile back, I posted a Travel Traditions series at the blog, with one of my favorite entries being the stargazing post. While some of our trips have been busying than others, I always try to get out at least one night for a little shooting at night.

I had also started a Stars Over Hawaii group on Flickr for anyone that wanted to view more, or share their own photos the night sky above the Hawaiian islands.

And as always, if you wanted to Talk Story about your own stargazing experiences or tips while visiting Maui or the other islands, leave a comment below.

Mahalo, – Kris

Taken by Kris Nelson on August 26th, 2011.
Location: Ka’anapali, West Maui.

Photo Story

Another image captured during the 3rd Annual Maui Photo Festival in August.

We were doing a sunset shoot on the beach outside the Hyatt in Ka’anapali when I spotted this family setting up their fishing polls. Can’t think of a better way to spend a family night on Maui than enjoying the sunset together.

Taken by Kris Nelson on August 25th, 2011.
Location: Ka’anapali, West Maui.

Photo Story

This photo was taken during the 3rd annual Maui Photo Festival and Workshops last month, during their doors-off helicopter excursion. I had previously posted how excited I was about this helicopter flight after flying back in ’09, and coming up to the event, I started sharing with the MPF staff and instructors how bad I really wanted to get this shot. Well, here it is!

The thing about the Sheraton is – for those new to the blog, anyway – is the place where we fell in love with Maui back in ’06. It’s also where I took my first Maui photo, right from the lanai of those ocean front rooms you see left of Black Rock in the photo. So having an image like this and being able to point to the fourth floor of those buildings and say “we were there” is pretty special to us.

Also, it gives you a great perspective on just how large the Sheraton Maui Resort really is. Maybe you’ve never visited there before or were in one of the ‘ohana suites and never ventured on the other side of the resort. Back when I blogged about some of the walking paths and lookout points from this side of the resort, this view from above really lays out those photos better.

The Return of Sunday Photos!

It’s been a few months since the last Sunday Photo now, but after coming back from the Maui Photo Festival last month and having so many new images to share, it’s about time to get back in the swing of things again. After all, we already have over 85 photos in our Sunday Photos series, so it’s about time we hit that century mark and blow passed it like a whale pod cruising by a boat of spectators. Be sure to follow along.

Share the Aloha on Facebook

There are also a few other updates for the site in the works – one of which is the new ability to Like our posts on Facebook. It’s a pretty popular feature over at my Daily Maui Photo website, so I decided to put it to work for us here, too. Go head, give that little Like button a click, and even post a comment to Facebook about this image if you like, too. The more, the merrier.

Also, you’ll notice the Facebook Fan Box (the official term, by the way) for my Maui by Photo page. You might remember a post way back when in which I introduced this FB page back in ’09. Since then, we’re now at over 10,000+ Maui fans, which still blows me away. If you haven’t seen it yet, why not join us for daily photos and discussion.

Check Back Soon

We’ll have another Sunday Photo available next week, but don’t be a stranger until then. If you’d like to stay up to date with the blog throughout the week, every week, view the Subscribe options on the upper-right of the page and stay informed.

Until next time,
– Kris

Taken by Kris Nelson on June 3rd, 2006.
Location: Black Rock, Sheraton Maui Resort in Ka’anapali.

Thanks to the folks at the Maui Photo Festival, I and all other MPF alumni were recently invited to submit a portfolio of imagery for consideration in an upcoming Maui coffee table book due out this fall. This was one of the images I submitted under the Hawaiian Culture category, as it speaks to the legend behind the Black Rock Cliff Dive Ceremony.

The portfolio I submitted consisted of 12 images, and altogether I worked with 25 photos in the process. Many of them are re-edits to images I’ve shared in the Sunday Photo series before, but I’ll try to feature the ones that are new to the blog in the coming weeks.

Share your #MauiSunset Photos on Flickr

In other news, I have a new Maui photo/website project in the funnel that I wanted to pass along. And with this one, you get to help out!

About a year and a half ago, I tried to gain support for the use of the #MauiSunset hashtag on Twitter to call out all the wonderful sunsets from the Valley Isle that visitors and residents share on a nightly basis. I recently came up with the idea of bringing that same concept from Twitter over to Flickr, and I created the #MauiSunset Flickr Group. And here’s where it gets really neat.

Imagine if there was a website that you could use to browse different Maui sunsets by choosing a particular night or location? Maybe you were driving back to your hotel and saw a great sunset but couldn’t stop for a photo. Or maybe you witnessed an awesome sunset in Lahaina and wondered what it looked like to the folks in Wailea.

By curating as many Maui sunsets as I can through the Flickr group, and working with the Flickr API like I have been doing for years now, I’m hoping to add such a feature over at the Daily Maui Photo website. Hopefully I can have something up by the end of April (given my other time constraints).

How to Help

If it sounds like something you’d like to help out with, that’s great. It’s pretty easy, especially if you already have a Flickr account. Even if you don’t, you can sign up for a free account. Once you’re on Flickr, there’s really to easy options to contribute to this effort:

• Add your photos to the group pool. You don’t need to join the group to add photos, but it’s not a bad idea.
• Help spread the word to other Flickr users or sunset photos you find. If you come across a great Maui sunset on Flickr, just leave a comment or send a note to the photographer telling them about the #MauiSunset group and seeing if they’d like to share their photo.

At the time of this writing, there are almost 75 photos that have been contributed in roughly a 3 week timeframe. With your help, we can easily get that number higher and hopefully have a starting base of 250 photos when I get the website feature running at the end of April.

Also, if you have any other suggestions or ideas, please feel free to share those, too. I look forward to seeing some of your awesome sunset photos!

- Kris

Taken by Kris Nelson on February 20th, 2009.

Location: Hockey rink at Kalama Park, Kihei, Maui

About the Photo

We took this photo on our February ’09 trip while we were exploring Kihei prior to our appointment for vacation portraits. A month earlier, I had found Maui Hockey online, and it wasn’t difficult to convince Cindy to swing by and check it out. We had intended to stop by and watch a game at Kalama Park during our trip, but our schedule wouldn’t allow for it.

More Maui Hockey

Aside from the nostalgia of reliving our ’09 trip this time 2 years ago, hockey was on top of mind even more than usual. You see, this weekend it was Hockey Weekend Across America, sponsored by USA Hockey. As such, I was hoping to see a little representation from the Maui Inline Hockey Association, but that came up empty.

In Maui, this weekend was also the Annual Whale Day celebration as part of the Maui Whale Festival. It was the same celebration we went to 2 years ago and saw the skaters from Maui Inline with this float in the parade. There was also this photo posted to Twitter two weeks ago by @AMauiBlog.

Closer to Home

Although not on Maui during this hockey weekend, I felt like participating by wearing my UH hockey jersey. Wearing hockey jersey’s were encouraged as part of the USA hockey celebration.

My brother and I currently play on 3 different roller hockey teams here on the mainland. In fact, we have 2 games scheduled for later in the day on Sunday. And while I don’t have footage of the Maui kids playing 20 feet from the ocean, someone from one of our teams is nice enough to shoot our games. Therefore, I can offer you a look at a few highlights from one of our recent games.

I know, you’re here expecting photos and details about Maui and I’m sharing home videos of my roller hockey triumphs. Please bear with me, I’m only foreshadowing. Should our ohana in fact relocate to the Valley Isle in the next few years, you can almost expect me to gravitate towards that rink as often as possible. Given my past player and coaching experience, I just wouldn’t be able to help myself.

So, remember this post in about 4-5 years. You may very well see me coaching a group of youngsters enjoying the exciting sport of hockey in a beautiful, Hawaii paradise. Don’t laugh, it could happen.

Taken by Kris Nelson on February 19th, 2009.
Location: Our lanai at the Sheraton Maui Resort, Ka’anapali, Maui

A sampling of the morning views we used to enjoy when staying at the ocean front rooms at the Sheraton Maui Resort in Ka’anapali. Sure, we paid a premium for those rooms, and all budget-minded travelers will say that you can save a ton of money on cheaper rooms that you’re not really going to spend that much time in anyway. And they’re right.

Still, for two weeks out of the year, being able to wake up and walk out on your balcony and see views like this…

I like to think it was worth it.

Mahalo,
– Kris

This photo is from my Maui Portfolio on my photography website. Head on over there if you’d like to see more.

Taken by Kris Nelson on February 21st, 2009
Location: Whale Day Parade down South Kihei Road, Kihei, Maui

March of the Whales

Yesterday was the 30th annual Whale Day celebration at Kalama Park in Kihei, and although we couldn’t be there again this year, a lot of my Maui Tweeps and a few new friends had another great #MauiTweetup.

For more details about the entire Maui Whale Festival, visit http://www.mauiwhalefestival.org, and for more details about the #MauiTweetup, head over to A Maui Blog or check out @AMauiBlog’s new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/amauiblog.

Mahalo,
– Kris

Taken by Kris Nelson on Septmember 19th, 2009
Location: Honolua Bay near Kapalua, Maui

For this week’s Sunday Photo I wanted to share the latest panoramic image I’ve worked with from our trip last September. This one is from down by the water of Honolua Bay, and if haven’t seen the bay from this level, you really should make the trip down there.

For those you that might have seen Honolua Bay from the lookout point above, that boat there out on the water is the one you usually see from the top.  If you haven’t seen Honolua Bay at all, here’s a different view, too.

View Larger

I know it’s kind of hard to see all the details in the version above, so if you want to see more, check out the Large and Original views over on Flickr.

Aloha,
– Kris

Browse more Sunday Photos

Taken by Kris Nelson on September 18th, 2009.
Location: High Above D.T. Fleming Beach Park via helicopter

Right up the coast from last week’s photo, this one is of nearby D.T. Fleming Beach. As I go back through more of my photos from this aerial shoot during the Maui Photo Festival last year, I continue to countdown to this year’s workshops in August. Maybe we’ll see you there this time?

More Photos on Facebook

Over the summer, I shared a list of my favorite Maui themed Facebook pages, including the one I created for my other site, Maui by Photo.

Well, as my addiction to intrigue with photography has flourished in the past year, I ended up creating another Facebook page for my photography work.  Take a look at Kris Nelson Photography on Facebook if you’d like to see more of my favorite images. There are more than just Maui images there, but if you’re so inclined, feel free to become a fan and leave a note on my wall asking that Maui be shown front and center.

Mahalo,
– Kris

Browse more Sunday Photos.

Taken by Kris Nelson on September 18th, 2009.
Location: High Above Kapalua Beach via helicopter

Looking down at Kapalua Beach and the Ritz Carlton Kapalua Bay Residences to the left.

For a closer look of Kapalua Beach from the ground, check out this previous entry in the Sunday Photo series.